Workers Comp

Business aviation provider must pay nearly $1M for retaliation

Danielle Ling

March 04, 2022 Reprints

Employment Practices Regulation Workers Comp Coverage Workplace Safety Aviation More + Less -

The U.S. Department of Labor on Wednesday ordered a California business aviation provider to pay $958,000 in back wages and associated costs to a former employee who the company retaliated against for reporting flight safety issues.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted an onsite inspection of Pegasus Elite Aviation Inc. in Calabasas, California, after an employee reported safety issues. Following the inspection and after the employee left the company, investigators discovered Pegasus Elite Aviation had sent a falsified and negative Pilot Records Improvement Act report to the worker’s new employer, violating the whistleblower provision. The report also led to the employee’s termination.

OSHA also discovered Pegasus Elite Aviation had provided falsified information to the Federal Aviation Administration, which contributed to the agency’s decision to suspend the former employee’s pilot certificates.

Based on the investigation’s findings, OSHA has ordered Pegasus Elite Aviation to pay more than $898,000 in back wages and associated costs, $50,000 in emotional damages and $10,000 in attorney’s fees to its former employee.

The company must also send a letter of correction to the FAA and other employers who received the falsified report, removing the derogatory information, OSHA ordered.